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Founders: #285 Jay Gould (How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune)

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What I learned from reading American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune by Greg Steinmetz. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes ---- [0:01] A series of spectacular financial triumphs had made Gould fabulously rich. At age thirty-six, he was the most notorious businessman in the country. [1:00] Vanderbilt told a newspaper that Gould was "the smartest man in America." Rockefeller, when asked who he thought had the best head for business, answered "Jay Gould" without pausing to think. They recognized Gould as a master of his craft. No one disputed that he was an extraordinary problem solver, an unparalleled negotiator, an expert communicator, a lightning-fast thinker, and a masterful tactician with a staggering memory. [2:00] Railroads changed America in the nineteenth century much as automobiles changed the country in the twentieth century and the internet has changed the twenty first century. [5:00] American Rascal shows the complex and quirky character of the nineteenth century's greatest robber baron. He was at once praised for his brilliance by Rockefeller and Vanderbilt and cond

[00:00:00] Jay Gold took time off from counting his money to have lunch at Delmonico's, the fanciest restaurant in town. While he was eating, a lawyer walked over to his table and punched him in the face. A series of spectacular financial triumphs had made Gold fabulously rich. Now at age 36, he was the most notorious businessman in the country. Like others who tried to claw back money from Gold, the lawyer was getting nowhere in court. The laws were too weak, enforcement too lax, and the judges too crooked. Gold had them in his pocket. This book seeks to explain Jay Gold and his…

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